Karthigai Deepam

Karthigai Deepam Once Brahma and Vishnu due to the ego started arguing with each other " who is the greatest". Both claimed to be the greatest, instead of doing their duty. At that time the God Shiva appeared in the form of fire and told them whoever finds the top or bottom of the fire is the greatest. Brahma took the form of Annam (a bird) and tried to find the top of the frle pillar. Vishnu took the form of Varaha( giant pig) and tried to see the bottom of the pillar. As the God has no limit in his size or power, both of them could not see either top or bottom of the fire. When their ego went down and they prayed the God, He appeared before them. The day in which the God appeared as a pillar of fire is Thirukarthigai/Karthigai Deepam. Lord Shiva appeared as a hill (Arunachala Hill) at Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu. Indeed, the very names `Tiruvannamalai' and `Arunachala' translate as `holy fire hill.' The Shivalinga in the temple here is the agni linga. The tiny lamps lit during the Karthigai festival (Karthigai Deepam) are believed to be the miniature replicas of the fire linga. Every year thousands of devotees from Chennai and elsewhere flock to Tiruvannamalai to see the spectacular Karthigai Deepam there. Spiritual Significance of Karthigai Deepam This festival indicates the non measurable infiniteness of the God and shows that the God is the light that will drive away our ignorance. The functioning of lamp implies a great spiritual notion. The wick in the lamp symbolizes our ego and the oil that is used to light the lamp denotes our innate nature that is responsible for the ego to thrive. The flame, the spiritual knowledge has the capacity to blaze our ego, the wick by emptying our innate tendencies. This is the significance of Karthigai Deepam